The statistics are produced in accordance with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010), adopted with a regulation of the EU Council 2013. The economy is described from the perspectives of output, demand and in-come formation. The examination extends to data at current prices and chain-linked volume data where the reference year is 2010. The produced data show how Finland's GDP has developed by quarter, which activities have grown and by how much, whether output has grown because of exports or investments, how the consumption of households has changed from the previous quarter and how much wages and salaries have risen from the previous quarter. The data includes original, seasonally adjusted and trend series. The time series start from the year 1990.

Volume refers to data adjusted for price changes. One problem with current price estimates is that price fluctuations can often dominate the changes in value. Volume estimates are needed to separate real changes in economic activity from these price changes. That is why the percentage change of GDP is normally dervied from the volume estimates. Volume in national accounts is not simply a measure of quantity because it also comprises changes in quality.

Chain-linking means that the volume data of each year are first calculated at previous year prices. From these the annual volume changes are calculated, which are then linked together to form a chain-linked volume time series. An alternative way of calculating volume series, prior to 2006, is to use a fixed base year.